As protests against the Trump administration’s immigration policy reverberated through the city, Singer Vanessa Hernández, who is more commonly known as Nezza, was told by the Los Angeles Dodgers she should sing the national anthem in English Saturday night. She sang the song in Spanish instead, “para mi gente,” she explained via TikTok.
The Dodgers have not commented on the performance.
Nezza sang “El Pendón Estrellado,” the official Spanish version of the national anthem. The song was commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. Clotilde Arias, a journalist and professional musician who had immigrated to the United States from Peru, was asked to translate the anthem into Spanish.
Roosevelt died before he could hear the song, which “became forgotten,” explained We Are All Human founder Gloria Romo Edelman in 2020. Arias’ grandson found the song in a storage box in 2006 and brought it back to life.
That history made Nezza’s decision all the more poignant, especially as protests against Trump were organized across the nation Saturday. A “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles drew 30,000 participants yesterday.
@babynezza para mi gente
i stand with you
♬ original sound – nezz
“We are going to do the song in English today,” someone with the Dodgers told Nezza in another video she posted Sunday. “I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed.” The singer sang the song she wanted to perform anyway, all while wearing a shirt representing the Dominican Republic.
“I didn’t think I’d be met with any sort of no,” Nezza said in one of her videos. “Especially because we’re in L.A., and with everything happening. I’ve sang the national anthem many times in my life, but today, out of all days, I could not. I just felt like I needed to do it. Para mi gente.”
The New York Times reported Sunday Nezza was not kicked out of the stadium and she has not been banned from future appearances.
With the exception of Kiké Hernández, the Dodgers have been silent on the ongoing protests. “I may not be Born & Raised, but this city adopted me as one of their own. I am saddened and infuriated by what’s happening in our country and our city. Los Angeles and Dodger fans have welcomed me, supported me and shown me nothing but kindness and love.”
“This is my second home. And I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights. #CityOfImmigrants,” he captioned a post shared via Instagram Saturday. The caption was also shared in Spanish.
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